GR#116 - Dinosaur Head - Anatomy / Shading / Palette

[Ymedron]

This is an attempt to utilize and learn the basics of pixeling - visually pleasing lines, antialias and color palette.
I also tried to avoid sel-out while refining the outline, though Im not 100% certain what constitutes to sel-out and what does not. (Do dark pixels at the outer edge of a horizontal portion in the outline lead to sel-out? What about a dark pixel on the inner edge?)



EDIT: Most recent picture:

[PixelPiledriver]

Yo Ymedron
Welcome to the forums!

Nice start.
Here's some suggestions:




Re use your colors more.
Group the colors into different combinations.
You've created the large surfaces well, also create small surfaces.
A body would give you more chances to spread the colors.
Mess around and have fun.

[Ymedron]

Thank you for the crit! I'll try to do something along those lines..!

Could you elaborate on what you mean by grouping into different combinations? I thought it might have had to do with the yellow stripes on the back you tried out but then discarded, but Im not sure.

Edit:
Tried to deal with the points raised as soon as I could, and decided not to wait for the clarification.
I hope it's not too messy, now... I didn't deliberate as much on the individual pixels, but might be that the picture did require some wildness to make it more interesting.


I'll try to do something about a body, maybe draw a new dragon for that.

[PixelPiledriver]

Take the colors you have, combine them into groups of 2, 3, 4 or whatever.
Re use colors in the combinations many times.
Use the combinations creatively to draw form, surfaces, details etc.
Don't be afraid of weird combinations, try to make them work.





You can do this ahead of time or just on the fly.
But it can be helpful to see what you already have in a simplified form.

Yup you've got it.
Looks a lot better already! 

[Ymedron]

I never thought to do that. Seems quite helpful!

Going back to the full-body thing you suggested - I drew a new drakeling. I used the same palette since it worked quite nicely before. Though I have a feeling there might not be enough antialias..?

The biggest trouble with this one was coming up with detail to add to the hindquarters, especially the feet and arms.

[Peace]

Yo Ymedron
Welcome to the forums!

Nice start.
Here's some suggestions:




Re use your colors more.
Group the colors into different combinations.
You've created the large surfaces well, also create small surfaces.
A body would give you more chances to spread the colors.
Mess around and have fun.

Original Post: 10:15am
PixelPiledriver's Post with multiple Edits: 11:45am.

HOW do you guys work so fast?? It amazes me. To Ymedron: It's looking great! Keep it up. To the experts: I'm enjoying the feedback on this one. Very insightful!

Peace

[blumunkee]

HOW do you guys work so fast?? It amazes me.

They can draw. Take a look at their websites. Being able to draw quickly and confidently is a boon to pixel art, or any art for that matter.

I also tried to avoid sel-out while refining the outline, though Im not 100% certain what constitutes to sel-out and what does not. (Do dark pixels at the outer edge of a horizontal portion in the outline lead to sel-out? What about a dark pixel on the inner edge?)

sel-out? That's a weird term. Well, whatever this sel-out thing is, it definitely sounds like you should avoid it!

Here's a quick and sloppy edit:



I removed most of the sel-out - those broken lines around the silhouette.

I also roughly filled in the feet some. They don't look nearly fleshy enough.

Hey! This is looking really nice for your early attempts at pixel art. You obviously have lots of inherit artistic talent!

I think your skills are already mature that you should start reading the Ramblethread, especially the part about clusters. If you do a sweep removing some of the bad clusters, this sprite will look that much better.

[Ymedron]

Thank you for removing the sloppy outer edges! I actually did kinda feel like I was out of control with those parts, since I felt like I was supposed to put in bounced light. So sel-out is actually just that - selectively including the inner color into the outline (aka making it disappear.)

I see you also removed my attempts at claws on the legs. What do you think I should do with them? I don't want to add an extra color just for them, but they didn't feel right with the yellowish color I was using (and looking at them now, the attempt at shiny "black" isn't that good either.)

I'll read through the ramblethread again, but Im having a slightly hard time understanding some of the text. I'll pay more attention this time!

Edit: Well...
I still can't really understand the first few posts, since they are all really philosophical and theoretical sounding. This might be where the language barrier finally bites me in the behind.
However, I kinda understood that single pixels = bad for the picture, and tried to do my best with removing some of them.

Also fixed the outlines a bit.

[Friend]

It's always a good idea to refine the silhouette or the line art of pixel art before you add color, detail texture and shading.  Your line art can definitely be improved.  The neck is really jaggy, the back to the tail could be much cleaner, and overall the lineart could be refined

[Ymedron]

Indeed... Should I antialias into the background? I was wondering if its ok to do that, or if the sprite should be able to stand on its own.
I'll try to refine it a bit more.

Edit:

Added an extra color to antialias the sprite into the background. Im not sure if thats what you meant, but...